What Are The Advantages of Laparoscopic Surgery?

Now these days Laparoscopic surgery is commonly performed. Traditional surgeries / open abdominal surgeries are decreasing in number due to few inherent advantages of laparoscopic surgery over traditional / open abdominal surgeries:

• Smaller incisions: During open abdominal surgery, the usual length of incisions vary from 3 cm upto 18 cm, depending on the indication of surgery. Incisions given for laparoscopic surgery are small (usually 0.5 cm – 1.5cm).

• Lesser pain: After surgery, in post-operative period pain is minimal due to small incision size.  
• Early Recovery: Lesser pain after surgery fastens the recovery process and faster return to everyday living.  
• Lesser Pain Medication: Reduced pain after surgery amount to lesser medication for pain after surgery.
• Shorter hospital stays: Because of early ambulation and faster recovery average hospital stay remains 1 to 2 days for laparoscopic surgery (versus 5 to 7 days for open surgery).
• Lesser wound infection and hernia formation: Smaller incisions decrease the risk of wound infection and chances of hernia formation.
• Cosmetically acceptable: Smaller incisions result in less scarring and hence cosmetically acceptable scars.
• Reduced chances of Infections: There is reduced exposure of internal organs to possible external contaminants which reduces the risk of acquiring infections.
• Reduced hemorrhaging: The amount of blood loss is lesser during laparoscopic surgeries which reduces the chance of needing a blood transfusion.
• Less metabolic derangements: Medical literature supports the fact that there are lesser metabolic derangements after laparoscopic surgery compared to open abdominal surgery.
• Better postoperative pulmonary function: Pulmonary functions i.e. capacity to breath in and out is least affected after laparoscopic surgery which help in faster recovery from the procedure.